Re: ’83 ERude E5RHCTA 4.5 hp carb tune-up literature

[legendre]

Since we’re discussing the (dubious) horrors of alcohol-enriched fuels and legacy carburetors, I thought to mention something.

It’s ironic to a degree, but as we go back further in time, these instruments actually become +less+ susceptible to the ravages of alcohol than those produced at later dates. Think about it..

Back in the WWII era, and earlier, plastic and rubber-based materials saw little use in gasoline engine carburetors. Carbs made up through the mid-1960s often lacked any materials that were subject to attack by alcohol. Gaskets were made of cork, compressed paper and fiber, Sealing washers and glands were either fiber or copper. Floats were made of soldered brass – or (nitrocellulose?) varnish coated cork. Packings were sometimes graphite impregnated rope, as in a faucet.

None of these, with the exception of some coated cork floats, suffered any degradation from alcohol in the fuels.

It was only with the advent and widespread use of various natural and synthetic rubber / plastic materials that any of this became a concern. Consequently, you’ll virtually never see an ‘alcohol proof’ rebuild kit for a 1939 BSA M20 motrocycle carb, or anything of that ilk, from the same or an earlier era.